Dhan Dhan Guru De Pyarai
Daughter of Sri Guru Gobind Sahib Ji
Daughter of Mata Sahib Kaur Ji
Fearless Warriors
Courageous Mothers
Determined Daughters
They suffered great in-humane tortures
Watch their children bleed to death
Witnessed the brutal murder of their husbands
Yet, they fought for freedom and faith
Remembered Guru Ji in every breath
And were an Inspiration to all Sikhs
We are a Kaur Princess
We are a Brave Lioness
We are the Daughters of the Khalsa

Daughters of the Khalsa

Saturday, September 02, 2006

Khalsa Women and Mir Mannu's Jail

If your children were taken from you....ripped apart in front of your eyes.....

Then their cut up bodies strung around your neck......

Would you continue to remember your Guru??

How strong and magnificent were the Mothers and Daughters of the Khalsa Panth....

In the first half of the 18th century, state terrorism against the Sikhs was on the steady increase and was intensified by Mir Mannu, the new Governor of Lahore (1748-1753). By now the faith of the common people in Sikhi and the strength of the Khalsa had increased tremendously. Despite Mannu's extreme torture and reign of terror, nothing could deter the Sikhs. A Panjabi folk song of that period goes like this in English:

We are the plants and Mannu a sickle,

But by now, everyone knows,

The more he cuts us, the more we grow.

This is the time when the army of Mir Mannu was going from house to house searching for Sikhs. Many of the Sikhs took shelter in jungles but some Sikhs who were living with their families in the cities and could not just leave right away or join any jathas. They were captured by the army and all were being sent to Lahore. Most of the prisoners were Sikh women and children. Many of the old women were killed on the way because they were weak and could not walk for a long time. All of the Singhnis and their children were put in Lahore jail. For labor they were given “chakkis”. They were given no food or water. This was a way to torture them so they would leave Sikhi. They were separated from their children.Everyday muslims would come and taunt them by saying “where is your Khalsa now? They can’t even come to rescue you. All of them have been killed by the army. So it is better for you to accept Islam and live a rich happy life.” Singhnis never ever thought of leaving Sikhi. They kept reciting “Waheguru Dhan Guru Waheguru Waheguru”.All children were separated from their mothers and were given no food or water. Then muslims started killing the innocent children by throwing them up in the air and landing them on sharp spears. Some children were cut into pieces and garlands were made out of their pieces. Then they put those garlands around the necks of Sikh mothers. But the faith of Sikh women was unshakable. One of the women was very beautiful and Qazi wanted to marry her. He would come everyday and try to convince her to accept him but she never did. She had a son who was less than two years old. One day upon leaving, qazi gave orders to some of the army men to torture her and her son so she would give up her faith.One night the cruel animals (men) tied her up first and then started torturing her son. They hung her son upside down, took a knife and started to cut into his flesh from the neck all the way down to stomach. Singhni kept calm and kept praying “Guru Ji, Jaan Jayai par Dharam Na Jaayai”. Then they slowly cut her son into pieces and he became shaheed. Then they started beating the Singhni with sticks and “chabuks”. After a while the Singhni passed out. They hung her upside down and left. She stayed that way all night. In the morning they took her down but she was unable to get up and walk. She lay there by the wall, did Nitnem and then did ardaas

Hearing this some of the guards were shocked and wondering what Sikhs were made up of? Some of the guards left their jobs by saying “These Sikhs are religious people. We cannot torture these innocent souls. Even their women and children are so strong and brave. They will rule Punjab one day.” Some fanatic muslims were enraged by this. They started to torture her again. Heavy weight was put on her body and her bones were crushed. They hit her with sticks. After so much torture she became Shaheed but she never gave up her faith. Only word that came out of her mouth was “Waheguru Waheguru”. When Singhs heard the news of the tortures, they attacked Lahore and freed all the prisoners and punished the criminals. At the same time mir mannu died a horrible death.

In short, Plight of the Sikh ladies detained in the camps of Mir Mannu was miserable. They were tortured and kept thirsty and hungry as they refused to be converted to Islam. Every one of them was allotted a small millstone to grind a fixed quantity of wheat. It was ordered that the children of these ladies be snatched. One soldier threw a child up in the air and the other killed him with his spear before he could touch the ground. The dead bodies of these children were cut into pieces and the ladies were garlanded with those pieces. Pieces of flesh of the children were thrust into the mouth of their mothers. In spite of all that, none of the ladies cried or yielded to embrace Islam Once this horrible scene stunned Mir Mannu. When he reached the palace after visiting the camp, he did not talk to anybody. It seemed he repented. He left for hunting with only four soldiers. While he was hunting, his horse was scared, ran very fast and jumped so high that Mir Mannu could not control it. He fell down, and his feet got entangled in stirrip. Mir Mannu’s cries further scared the horse and it ran faster. It was dragging Mir Mannu and none could stop it. Mir Mannu was badly injured and died in the forest.

Daughters of the Khalsa, in your strength our future lies!Learn about the Great Spirit of which Sikhs possess, which no one could ever understand.

Give our children fearless minds to see the world through the Guru's eyes!Let our future brothers and sisters strive to become the Khalsa and continue to inspire others by becoming noble, fearless and Chardi-Kala (high-spirited) Sikhs.

Let them live up to the standards of those countless Sikhs who spilled blood and laid down their heads for the Khalsa to remain distinct and in ever-existence!

Dedicated to the sacred, gracious and benevolent memory of our Divine Father SRI GURU GOBIND SINGH SAHIB and our Divine Mother MATA SAHIB KAUR and those brave Sikh women, who suffered untold oppression in Mir Mannu's prison, who starved and suffered under force labour, and saw their little children cut to pieces, and flung savagely into their laps, yet they still upheld the dignity of Sikhi until their last breath. Their Immortal achievements remain an inspiration to us all for generations to come!